Fallen Prophecy
by Rose of Salkara
Summary: 100 years ago,(in our time)the dying Star sealed the Dragon away and left a prophecy. Now,100 years into the future,the Dragon is reawakening. And this time it's stronger than ever. As everyone waits with held breaths,they realize that the Prophecy had not been fulfilled. The Star had not come. And now,my friends,it's too late. The Prophecy has fallen. And all of Altera will die...
1. Prologue

**Hello there, my fellow Dragon Nest players! :D I AM SO HAPPY TO FIND YOU ALL ON FANFIC YAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA—Ahem. **

**Anyways. I was looking through a few months ago and I was pretty sure that there were no Dragon Nest fanfic but ended up finding 28. I wanted to write one but had no good ideas and so I didn't. Instead I began focusing on my Legend of Songtale story that will be posted on , twin-sister site of . **

**Anyways, this is the story I'm going to relate to you. Enjoy and review!**

**(p.s.) You can find me on Dragon Nest (Songtale or SongChaos or even Songflower, so many songs) on almost all of the days. I suck though ._. .**

* * *

_She was so young back then. I'm sure she doesn't remember that. It was a miraculous incident, and somehow I was directed to record down her story. What a perfect idea for a book, sure, but I think you'll understand. Many has tried to write this down, but only I know the true side of this._

_She was very young back then, wasn't she? _

* * *

**Fallen Prophecy**

**Book 1: Dying Tale, Prologue**

"And so the evil creature was defeated, sent back to its slimy prison by its own powers! Sealed away to sleep for another 100 years. But the darkness lingered, so the dying star gave its last prophecy: The one who bears the gift of the Star, will correct what has been wronged." The old grandfather closed his mouth, letting his last words trail and drag slowly through the air, burying itself deep within the mind of the awed young ones who gathered, in a circle, around his homely armchair.

"Who was the star?" A young girl asked, whispering her words as if the magic of the story will be broken and altered if a single loud noise dare touch its sacred words.

The old grandfather smiled and leaned, with some difficulty, off his armchair to ruffle the already-messy hair of the girl who had spoken. She had heard the story many times before, but always acted as if every time she listened, the time-worn folk-lore renewed itself.

"The star was a great warrior, who fought against the Green Dragon 90 years ago. We don't know much about him, or her, for that matter. All we know is that both the dragon's army and the hero's army suffered heavy losses, and the star himself (or herself) had been fatally injured. Knowing his/her own fate, the star left behind one last thing: a Prophecy. You already all know the prophecy, so there's no need to ask me more on that. I know only what my forefathers have passed down for 9 decades." Smiling at the young children's disappointed faces, the kindly old man added, "Now run along and play. Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the Battle of Blackguard Stronghold."

Squealing with delight, the children bounced off energetically to find their toys and playmates. Only the girl remained. She was a quiet creature, oldest of the group that gathered to listen to fairytales. The others of her age had long grew tired of listening to stories of bygone heroes, and had moved on to playacting.

"Grandpa, when will the Prophecy be revealed?" The teen asked quietly.

"Soon." Grandpa closed his eyes. "I can feel it in my old bones, squashed next to all that rheumatism." Groaning, the elder propelled himself upright, giving his granddaughter a wink. "Who knows? Perhaps little Timmy will turn out to be the Star. Now run along, Rose."

Flashing him a quick smile, Rose stood up and walked quietly out.

* * *

"And the Prophecy said: The one who bears the gift of the Star, will correct what has been wronged." Rose whispered to the young group of children who had clumped together next to her worn little wooden stool, staring at her with absolute fascination. Smiling happily that she still remembers the complete story, the young adult stood up and shooed the little children out of her humble house.

_95… 95 years have passed. 5 more years…_ Rose stared at her hands. To the children it was nothing but a fancy folk-story that has survived for almost 100 years. But Rose knew better. All the older ones knew better. 5 more years.

5 more years until the Green Dragon returns.

From what Rose have gathered of the Green Dragon, it was a creature of pure fear and chaos. A machine designed to only destroy and kill and nothing else. Fearful legends have passed down telling of its remarkable strength and stunning powers. This was the dragon that almost completely destroyed Altera 95 years ago, and it's coming back.

Rose sighed. Why couldn't the heroes if the past seal up the dragon for 1000 years, not 100? 100 years is such a short time, even for a human. Why, the elves were flighty at first because 100 years was such a short, pinchy amount of time before the dragon returns, and they will have to fight it again. The elves that have survived the first Green Dragon Nest aren't too keen on plunging madly back into it again. _We're all waiting for the Star_.

* * *

"The one who bears the gift of the Star, will correct what has been wronged." Rose breathed the last magic words into the air. Such familiar words, they rolled right off her tongue, as if they had expected this to happen and were happy to be free. The new generation stared in awe at the story-teller. The older ones knew that Rose had finished the story, and was about to rise and thank her, when a fresh bushel of words they have never heard before crept out of Rose's mouth. "100 years is a long time for us. But it's not long enough. It's back. And now we need a hero to save us all."

Standing up abruptly, the storyteller sighed and shooed the younger ones out to play. All of them had puzzled faces. Even the youngest ones can tell by the looks on their older playmates' faces that something about Rose's last few sentences were unsettling.

100 years is a long time indeed.

* * *

There was so much screaming, frightened people! Fire roared everywhere, consuming and eating away at the trees, the gardens, the wooden patches on houses. Rose chocked on ash as wailing blotted out her hearing. Smoke singed her nostrils and rendered her sense of smell useless. Fire, ash, smoke, and flying debris clouded her sight and made her helpless. She was surrounded by an atmosphere so terrifyingly disrupted Rose instantly lost all her sense of direction and felt as it an invisible hand of death was closing over her, wrapping its fingers around her tighter and tighter. Roofs collapsed as boulders slammed into them, breaking into pieces and showering death on the confused villagers below.

Crying rang out feebly, the newborn was small and weak. It's trapped somewhere under the debris. Tearing up helplessly, Rose shoved aside collapsed timbers until she reached a pitiful bundle, perfectly fine except for a few slashes of soot here and there. Rose knew if she didn't get out of here immediately, both herself and the baby will die.

Regardless of who the baby's mother was, Rose scooped up the bawling bundle and dashed into the safety of the open meadows, where it was too wet for the fire to touch. A few villagers saw the two and rushed to join them, hurrying out of this place of doom.

The normally weak monsters hanging around town had become more aggressive, more cunning. They probably sensed the return of the mighty Green Dragon also. This fire attack was started by normally hiding kobolds and orcs, who wandered harmlessly through the area.

_No… no, no… no, no, no, no, NO!_ Rose felt more tears blinding her vision, flying rocks and grit scraped against her arms and legs, trying to slow her down. The baby, surprisingly, went to sleep. Seeing its blurry shape through tear-stained eyes, all peaceful and quiet despite the chaos around, made Rose even more determined to get out of this furnace. Nothing else mattered more, she must get away from here.

Darting from one place to another, Rose quickly made her way across the burning, dying settlement that she lovingly called home.

Safe.

Collapsing in a heap in the cool, wet, and shallow lake in the center of the meadow, Rose breathed heavily to calm herself down. The tears no longer came. And she felt fine, despite the fact that the bitter, acrid smell and taste of burning fire lingered in her mouth and nostrils.

The baby had woken, and was staring at her inquiringly with soft, blue dewdrop eyes. It was not crying anymore. It was just staring at her. Just staring. Rose stared back, not knowing what to do. What if it suddenly started crying? It might attract wandering kobolds. But the baby just stared and stared and stared at Rose, as if it knew everything that had happened and was curious about its savior.

"My name is Rose. I'm named after the Prophet. You know, the famous one that was the descendant of the ancients? 100 years ago? Yeah. She saved a lot of my forefathers." The young woman murmured softly. "I live where you live, in the village that just burned up. I know you miss your mama, and your papa, but… at least we're alive, right?"

The fragile thing replied by blinking its beautifully dark sapphire eyes and continued staring at Rose, who sighed and gently out the bundle down where it was dry and made soft by the sand.

"We'll look for survivors and for help in the morning." Then Rose laid down to sleep. She didn't feel bothered by the baby's constant stare, but she was quite confused by the strange calmness the baby seemed to show.

* * *

**I was going to write more but… I look at how much I wrote and I was like… Oh wow that's not a very short prologue. So I stopped writing c:**

**Anyways. That's about it. Looks more like the first chapter than the prologue… oh well. To clear up some confusions: The setting of THIS chapter (or prologue, whatever) is 100 years in the future, after the current main quest in the actual game. Well, 100 years after the fall of the Green Dragon (Kalahan) that is. Or did we kill him. I don't know. Well, his lustre's still there. Oh well. Let's just say that the green dragon was defeated and his lustre sealed up. But now he's coming back or something. Like Leviatha! Yeah! Like Leviatha! (spoiler alert :3)**

**Hope you enjoyed! Review please! :3**


	2. To Where the Snow May Fall

**ME AGAIN! LE AWESOME JEN HAS RETURNED! Mein STUPID internet and laptop WON'T let me publish mein story! AAAAAAAAAAAARG so now I'm going to write a lot of chapters and wait for the chance to publish them all when I get to Jo's house. Jo is mein best friend.**

**Well, see. I don't really know where this story is heading, and so I'm going to wait and see how the plot develops. Arg, I have EXCELLENT ideas but I just can't put them onto paper (or Microsoft Word, more like). I'm sorry if any of the chars are OOC D: be patient, I only started this game 3 months ago. Or was that 4… **

**Please read Legend of Songtale on Fiction Press :3**

**Oh and one last thing: THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: Rose is a cleric. I mean, no, not like the Dragon Nest cleric . But like one who can heal and have basic attack skills. **

**As my motto says: welcome back, all you faithful readers, and hello to the new ones!**

…

**Fallen Prophecy**

**Book 1: Dying Tale, Chapter 1: To Where the Snow May Fall…**

"This isn't much of a travelling group, and we have not much of a plan. But to where we're headed… I don't suppose we know either, right?" Rose blinked at her companions, hoping that one of them has a good enough idea as in where to go and where to stay.

The surviving 10 villagers, including Rose and the newborn, have found each other and now travelled together in a small group, using a spared, metal wagon to carry the unburned bits and pieces that might be useful, or memorable. But sadly none was cheered enough to reply. All were still in shock as to what had happened last night.

Rose sighed and looked up to the sky. _Where are you? _She pleaded quietly. _When are you coming? 100 years have passed… But the prophecy has not come true… Where are you when we needed you?_

But the morning star just smiled down pitying at her, as the weak light of dawn began reaching up to touch the sky, the star slowly faded. Rose watched until it was almost gone. _Where… are… you? _Lowering her head, the young women stared at the flower-strewn grass field. A spot of wet coldness touched her shoulder. Surprised, Rose threw her head back up again and stared at the snow drifting down. Lively, white little things. They danced and swirled, embracing each other as they fell to the ground. Their short life-span over, the snowflakes willingly submitted to the earth. _How? What…?_ Rose wheeled about in confusion, and her companions raised their heads slowly to stare at the snow falling with hollow eyes.

_Snow in June… The totems… they're all leaking power… They're reaching even to here! So far away from Lotus Marsh… We're… we…_ Rose's thoughts melded together into one single conclusion: The Dragon was awakening. We have ran out of time. The Prophecy has been denied…

Rose was sure her fear reeked so much that a poochum miles away could smell it. The baby she carried in her arms stared up at her, as if saying: Don't be scared, Rose. Don't be afraid. The Prophecy will be fulfilled in its own time.

Rose smiled fretfully back at the silent newborn. "I would be fine… But I just fear for all of you. All of you young ones, who will have to live their childhood in fear and destruction, war and death… Oh you wouldn't understand. And let's not talk of this matter, shall we? Let's jump to something happier, a little break from all this."

The baby yawned. A snowflake landed square into its mouth. Sneezing, the tiny thing re-opened its sleep-filled eyes and widened the twin sapphire orbs into enormous, deep-blue pools, focusing intently on the snow around.

"We're wandering aimlessly around." The cleric explained patiently to her silently-communicating partner. "I think Mana Ridge is that way. In front of us. It's not very far from our town. And I have a friend at Mana that may help us for a while." Rose stared off into the distant, unseeing, "That is, if they hadn't sacked Mana too."

Rose turned her attention sharply back onto the baby. "Oh yes, I was thinking about this yesterday night, see. I don't suppose you remember the name your mama gave you? No? I guessed so. So what should I name you? Elizabeth? Grace?"

The baby seemed to scowl at all the names. But then again it's probably hungry. One of the kindlier survivor, an old woman, had saved a goat and fed the baby yesterday with fresh goat milk. Mix some salved home-made butter in the lot and POOF! You have a good, healthy, rich drink for any baby.

After handing the newborn to the old woman's care, Rose trudged along with the rest of the group as she focused on only one thing: what to name the baby. At least it took her mind off the terrible events that happened… yesterday night. It hurt Rose to even attempt to recall anything that had happened. There had to be a special name, a very special name in some distant language that would suit the little life she had saved. Something nice-sounding, something meaningful. Rose had wanted her own name to start with an 's', because she liked the sound of that letter. But she had been named Rose, and she was happy all the same. _Something that starts with 's'. _There were no good names that the cleric could think of that began with an 's'. _Something in the old tongue then? In the language of the Ancients… yes… I've been studying that recently with…_ Rose stopped right there. _I've been studying it. _She quickly changed, to prevent any unnecessary tears. _Yes… there's a lot of good words that start with 's' in the Ancient's tongue… But __**I**__ think I should make something up… take some of this and some of that! _

Rose flipped words back and forth in her mind until she finally stumbled upon a good enough sound. She slowly pushed on from that one syllable, onto the other, and finally concluded it with a perfect ending.

Then, staring around her in surprise, Rose realize that the small travelling group was in familiar territory again. _The scent of snow… NATURAL snow… Mana Ridge_… Rose smiled happily. "I know what to name the child now!" Rose called to the old woman, 5 feet in front of her, "I had a PERFECT name!"

Smiling, the kind, wrinkled face of the elder peered back at the excited Rose. "Calm down, young one, and let us hear that name. We're getting close to Mana Ridge right now! And my, this fine lady here ate quite a lot." The woman looked lovingly at the baby, who smiled up at her, though it said nothing. Nothing at all.

…

"And here, I dub thee…" Rose paused dramatically, like the way they knighted squires back in the old days. Her travelling companions have now relaxed and were smiling delightedly at the way Rose was naming the newborn, and how dramatic she made it.

"Salkara, the Flower in Water. As in the tongue as my forefathers. Now I pass down to you!" Rose ended the last part so hurriedly and excited everyone laughed happily. The baby, now named Salkara, smiled. Then it broke into a silly grin, like all the other infants. Except it did not laugh. It simply smiled and stared, happy with its new family.

…

"Very clever of you, eh?" The old woman's eyes twinkled as she handed the newly "knighted" baby back to Rose. "Sal—Flower. Kara—Water. A cunning combination. The delicate flower with eyes of water."

Rose was about to answer when a shrill cry pierced the silence of the morning air. One of the younger and none-too-wise survivors has spotted the ugly snout of a poochum poking out at them. "Stop that!" Rose hissed, rushing to the child's side. "You'll attract their atten—"

The young cleric gaped at the arrow protruding from the wagon a centimeter away from her eyes. "Lay low!" she cried to the others as more arrows zipped across the air and cut up the peacefulness that had once settles. _Monsters… so close to Mana Ridge? I thought the Coven would take care of them! Unless… _Rose pushed the last, horrifying thought out of the way. It didn't matter much anymore. It mattered only for them to stay alive through this sudden new attack.

Everyone gathered their senses and dashed to the wagon, crawling under it and waiting for whatever was shooting at them to show themselves. Rose's eyes were wide with fear, but she also gathered up a little of her senses and pooled a little spark between her hands. The spark grew as she concentrated.

A poochum barked roughly and shoved its snout near the wagon.

_ZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII_

The small blue-green spark lashed out, slashing the monster through its eye and right through to its evil brain. The poochum jumped back, only to fall dead. Then the orcs came. And goblins. There was an army of them, ambushing the travelers!

First came a rain of arrows. Luckily none found its mark, as the wagon proved to be a valuable shelter. Then the orcs threw their maces and clubs. This assault made a significant dent in the metal wagon, and even pushed it back a little.

Rose was not daunted. Stirred a little by the sense of oncoming battle, the young women shot out showers of her own magic: One hit instant death. _If only more of us knew how to defend. Even basic skills work well now! _

The battle was well turned in Rose's favor when the wagon was lifted.

It suddenly LIFTED straight off the ground, and smashed into a nearby tree.

An ice mage on the enemy ranks teleported away, its work done, and left the lowly-ranks continue their fighting. A fresh rain of arrows came, and one of it struck the shoulder of a man scrambling to his feet near Rose. A scream enveloped Rose's hearing, and she firmly PUSHED it out of her mind. She couldn't be distracted! Running over to gather the survivors, Rose tore off a small rune she wore as a pendant. Holding it high above her head, Rose cried in the ancient language, "_Let the Goddess protect us!" _A force shield swept around the pitiful 10 figures. Rose tripped over her own feet cutting across to examine the wounded man. He was still alive. _Thank you, dear Goddess_. Rose teared up once more as she used her powers to hold back the man's pain and heal it. First she cleaned wound, then she fitted the bones back, then she worked to reknit together the severed muscles and skin. _If only I studied more on the arts of healing_…

So many "If only" s… those are ugly things to think of. If only life was more fair, but it isn't. As Rose learned from the past, life was not fair. It was not fair when one of the enemy archers aimed so well it went through an undetected crack in the force shield and shattered the crystal rune that upheld it.

What happened next Rose did not remember, nor did she care to try. All she knew was that there was something sharp in her side. It didn't hurt, it was just there. Just a little pressure. The world around her was dimmed and the noises faded. The last ten survivors were milling around her, to do what Rose did not know. It was like she had forgotten everything. Then a small hand reached out and tugged on her hair.

The cleric was instantly jolted back into reality, and she sprang up. What had happened to the others Rose didn't know, all she cared about now was to save Salkara. The baby was left on layers and layers of wool, her eyes followed Rose as if to give her hope and strength.

Once again, she concentrated on a pool of magic. Instead this time she did not care to destroy the monsters heading towards her. The spark was sent upwards. It formed into an arrow-shape and suddenly exploded in a blinding, easy to see mass of swirling blue, red, green, that assembled into the shape of an angel. All clerics knew that skill*, it meant that the cleric was in grave danger. The angel will stay in the air for 10 minutes before it explodes and rains toxic on its enemies.

The light blinded the monsters for a temporary while, precious time that Rose needed. The pressure in her side increased, and Rose stared down quizzically. There was an arrow buried half-through her left side. "Where did I get this?" The cleric was about to heal herself when she realized she was out of Mana. "That's not good…"

The baby reached out and tugged on the hem of Rose's simple, homespun cloak. "Hm?" Rose looked down. The baby pointed. Rose spun around just in time to dodge a fast-recovering orc. Fishing a mana herb from her pocket, Rose pooled it into her magic. Then shot out another shower of deadly magic. The arrow in her side increased in pressure, and even though Rose didn't feel much pain, the wound was weighing her down. Blood was spilling out of the wound like a wild waterfall. At this rate Rose knew she would die soon. _Should have gotten more runes… I wonder where are the others? I hope they escaped! Please let them still be alive. _

Something snapped. The young cleric gasped as she fell down. _I should have healed first! I'm an IDIOT_… Throwing up a protection shield with weak magic, Rose collapsed inside the crystalline dome and found out she was out of mana again. It didn't matter. She was too weak to try to use more magic. _Ugh… I HATE it when this happens. _

_Wait a minute._

_I'm saying that as if it happened before, many times._

_But I have never fought before._

_Yet I know… I know… _Rose tilted her head slightly. She saw an array of weapons clashing against her shield. But she didn't know what for. _Why are they here?_

Rose sighed and saw Salkara. A pity. What a pity. Salkara stared back at her calmly. Then it reached out a hand.

_Where… have I… fought before? Where… am I now? Who… _Rose's eyes filled with strange images she had never seen before. Memories. But not her memories. There was a girl laughing. Then it faded into a sunny day with young children milling about. Rose heard laughter, it sounded nice and happy. But then… the imaged burned into a battle scene. Chaos reigned around the young woman. People were screaming war cries and clashing with monsters. A shadowy shape perched on a mountain peak, jutting high above the carnage. It was huge, and in the form of a dragon. It roared. Then the image shattered, giving away to a brilliant star. It was nothing but a clod of light. Intense, piercing, beaming light.

It was fading fast. Rose felt a strange calmness overtake her, as the Star whispered quietly.

"_Thank you." _

Rose smiled.

Salkara withdrew her hand, puzzled by her savior's smile. The infant watched with silent eyes. The crystal dome around them weakened. It began blinking and fading. The baby wanted to cry out, but no sound came. A goblin smashed its crooked dagger into the dome, shattering it.

Rose's eyes snapped open. "Not today, you won't!" Sending an intense beam of light around her, she pushed the surrounding monsters back with the force of her attack. The cleric jumped to her feet. "Take that!" Rose pooled energy into her hands and burst it in the faces of her attackers. It formed a Holy Cross and shot out fierce crackles of energy. The lightning bolts shot through the enemy ranks, killing a mass amount of them and electrocuted many others.

Rose felt the pain in her side grow to be a monstrous size, but something told her to keep fighting. _My work is not done yet. _

…

For how long the cleric stood there, sending jolts and jolts of lightning into the enemy ranks Rose did not know. But the angel suddenly exploded. _I forgot about that_. Monsters shrieked as a rain of blackish-purple toxin showered them thoroughly, poisoning most and killing some. But there was no end to them. None at all.

Rose couldn't fight anymore. Her eyes grew dim for the third time. _I'm sorry, I did the best I can…_

Sensing their prey weakening, the orc commander shouted for the attack to continue with renewed energy. _I'm sorry. But it's the best I can do._

The commander raised his mace. _SSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH_ . The monster stared dumbly down, where his waist was no longer connected to his lower body. Then he sighed, as if tired of it all, and fell apart. A figure strode, almost calmly, out of the forest. The sword flashed in the sunlight. With a few graceful strokes, the enemy ranks diminished so rapidly there was soon none of the thousands upon thousands left within a few minutes.

Rose wondered if she was still alive, or was an angel coming to take her away. The figure turned back to her.

"Salkara." Rose used the last of her energy to nudge the infant. Then the world around her faded. It no longer existed.

"_Thank you, child."_

…

**:D Well! That's the end of that! Oh and I actually got to publish the prologue at home. My internet decided to be kind to me. My internet has more power than I do . Well anyways. The * part was that I meant it was a skill that clerics in general know. Not the DN cleric, I mean, his order knows that skill, it's just that DN didn't let people use it in RPG battles. Okay you know what, even I'm confused now. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed! :D **

**Oh and one last thing: Please help me on DN :3 I suck too much. **

**Find me as either Songtale, SongChaos, and sometime in the distant future Songflower and Runalr (Jo's char, no wonder why he's name doesn't start with a 'Song'). **


	3. And Whom May Care At All

**Well, me again :D. Will people please review ._. . Well heck, I'm writing this when I haven't even posted the second chapter yet and only posted da first one today because I was lucky. I'm writing this on 3/2/13. **

**._. There's nothing else to say. . So I'm just going to make some faces at you. o.0 XP :P :F **

…

_I remember, that was a long, long time ago. But since then she has been keeping to herself. And we don't know about that missing 6 years. She was so young back then, ah. Even she can't remember now. I remember she would laugh and shake her head when I ask her what she thought of her old life. Embrace your present, she would remind me. Because what happened in the past did not matter, and what happened in the future will never be as sweet when the time has gone by. Ah yes. Back to this matter. _

_Well. She was still young back then. She was still very young._

…

**Fallen Prophecy**

**Book 1: Dying Tale, Chapter 2: …And Whom May Care At All…**

"Well. If you did throw the stone like that it might hit something you don't want to hit. Like your allies. Chuck it like this. It's a lot better. There we go. Though it's too short. You want to try?"

The mock-serious "trainer" David (named after David of course. He DID end up being famous, the David in the past :3 AU SPOILER! :3) handed Salkara the sling and stone. The 7-year-old girl stared quietly at the children's weapons handed to her.

"Now, don't be afraid if you miss the first time. Why, even I can't make it hit square center when I was smaller."

"You're just saying that because you think just because you're named after someone special you are special too!" One of the younger children complained. "I bet you can't make the stone hit!"

David mock-glared severely at the giggling youngster. "Oh no you didn't, mister! I can sling the stone straight into the mark a 100 meters away! And I can sling YOU into that tree yonder just as easily!" he ended his "speech" with a fine military growl.

The children were laughing so hard some even toppled over. Salkara smiled at David. Then she began twirling the sling slowly. The small, round pebble inside was pressed back into the fabric as the girl increased the speed of her twirling. Soon the sling became a blur. Faster and faster it went, while Salkara squinted one eye at the mark, like how David would do it. Then let fly. _Plunk_.

The stone bounced off the circular, wooden target, very close to the edge. Salkara handed the sling back to David with a shake of her head. "Not good enough! That was your first try, wasn't it? What do you want to do, eh, young one? Score a perfect hit right on the bulls eye when you're only 7 and this is your first try? Are you sure about that? You sure you're not secretly controlling the stone to hit such a wonderful mark?" the other children laughed at the idea of a toddler (not Salkara, of course) slinging a stone perfectly into a mark 100 miles away. They loved to exaggerate.

Salkara grinned back at him and shook her head again. A fat drop of dewy wetness splashed onto her hair, and she shook it off. David looked around. "Well, it's raining, isn't it? We can't be out here when it's raining. We better go inside." The other children groaned and kicked at the ground sulkily. Then they were herded inside by a stern-faced David. Kara (as she preferred to be called. Makes my life a whole ton easier. Too lazy to type dat 3 extra letter D:) trailed behind thoughtfully, catching a few droplets in her hands and observing them. They felt warm to the touch, yet a chilly wind that had begun to pick up blew straight into her bones. Making a face at the droplets, Kara wiped them off on her plain, white, knee-length tunic and ran to catch up with the others, who had walked far ahead of her while she was busy thinking about the troubling raindrops.

David sensed that something was wrong, and he turned to the sound of Kara's pitter-pattering footsteps. Kara tugged on his sleeve and pointed at the sky urgently. The other children, realizing that David wasn't walking with them, stopped in their tracks and turned to stare inquiringly at the pair. David shooed them into strange-looking spheres, which were covered in glass to reflect the surrounding scenery and therefore making them almost invisible. A woman appeared to gather the little ones to her and take them inside with a worried glance at David and the child at his side.

"Don't worry, Kara just has something to say." David waved dismissively at the woman. Relieved and smiling at David's little joke (Right… Something to "say"… Remind me, when's the last time Kara said something again?), the woman disappeared inside, promising the eager children some pastries and a good story.

David gestured for Kara to head into his own house, not far away from the building the others went to. Inside the unique-looking structure was a cleverly-made channel of rooms and hallways, making as least waste of space as possible. David scooted Kara into a small room and pulled a chair for her. The he went to find some cheese pastries his mother would make for him.

Kara stared around, focusing on one specific image. It was a small portrait of David the Legendary. "I'm going to be like him one day." David announced proudly, returning with 2 pastries and a bowl of strawberry fizz (heck, REDWALL ALL THE WAY! :DDDDDDD yeah I'll have LOTS of food references from Redwall. It's a book series, in case you didn't know. Read it. READ IT. NOW. On second thought finish this first :P). Kara accepted the bowl eagerly and set about polishing off her pastry.

"So, you had something to tell me? Or you just wanted the snack?"

Kara put the half-empty bowl down and pointed out the window. David scooted over and peeked outside. "Still raining. What about it?"

Kara leapt out of the chair (quite literally, the chair legs are too high for her to just get up and walk off) and bumbled over. She handed David his warm pastry and pointed at it. Then she pointed outside. "It's raining pastries?"

Kara shook her head and pointed at the pastry again. Then she made the gesture of holding it and then pretended she was snuggling next to a fire. Then she pointed out the window again. David stared, confused, out at the pouring rain for a minute. Then it dawned on him.

The rain was warm. More like, BURNING. BOILING. Heavy raindrops hissed lightly as they splattered on plants. The plants instantly wilted, sizzling. The rain was POISONOUS as well.

"The Green Dragon." David murmured. The sky was boiling over with low, sickly-green colored clouds. They poured the acidic rain down on the peaceful, green village. It used to be green, at least. The plants began rapidly wilting and shrinking, losing their beautiful emerald shades and fading away to a deathly purplish-black. Until everything became consumed in a yawning field of death.

Ironwood Village—one of the last green places in Altera, has just died.

Kara was still in shock. One moment everything was green and beautiful. The next this whole town was slathered thickly with doom. David pulled himself together and pulled out a small device from his pocket. He smashed the glass covering on the small metallic thing, bringing Kara back to her senses. Then he pushed the red button on the device and set it on the table. Kara rushed around, pacing. She didn't know what to do, and for some reason she felt strangely calm. I'm not going to die. She told herself. It's okay, I won't die. For some reason it did feel as if she wouldn't die. But something must be done. The Green Dragon has finally found the hidden patch of green. Ironic, isn't it? The Green Dragon destroying green things.

Kara shook her head. Strange what things people think of when they are facing a great danger. A piercing wail bust from the device. And Kara instantly let her hands fly to her ears. David didn't do that, however, he just stared out the window. Soon other wailing noises ensued from the other buildings. A strange glop of light was shot from the central building. It flew until it was high enough and burst into a circle. Inside was the sign of Ironwood. Kara prayed someone would see and come to their rescue. Being too young to understand war, Kara didn't know what will happen to them. She didn't know who will come rescue them, being too young to understand much of the legends and tales of heroes. Ones that are still alive, that is.

Kara decided to jump back up onto the chair. Ignoring her surroundings, Kara began to think. She thought of green grass and flowers and trees and sunny days and all the things a normal child would dream of (let's just say… in the far future of Altera, the kids aren't so choked up on video games and electronics :P). Then something came.

_KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHH H_

Jolted out of her happy little world, Kara was confronted with cold reality. She rushed over to the window, where a very pale David was standing, frowning at the field of poisoned grass outside. The sickly-green clouds began to take shape, clouding and clinging onto something humongous behind it. 2 slitted orbs of glowing evil glared at the helpless settlement below from behind a thin sheet of cloud. The image was burned into Kara's mind, and she opened her mouth to scream. A pitiful little rattle escaped, and David drew her close to him. It made Kara feel more assured. I won't die. She told herself sternly. And standing around thinking of bad thoughts won't do me any good.

Kara stared as a waft of cloud drifted over their SOS signal, and easily snuffed it out. "Aw dang you." David muttered under his breath and murmured quietly into a walkie-talkie like device.

Suddenly, a wave, no, army, no, APOCALYPSE of monsters Kara has never seen before flooded her home. They hacked away at the buildings, easily snapping them with waves of pure energy from the help of the Dragon.

"Why are they attacking us with this force?" David murmured. "Heck, even the old bottle-brained his royal dragon-ness is here today. What's with that? And those monsters… they're not the normal odd poochum or two. I've seen them before, they're all the way from Lotus Marsh! Where the dangerous things are." David frowned. "What's with this apocalypse?"

Kara's own fear made her choke. She held her hands to her throat, where she was sure a lump the size of a poochum was growing.

"There's nothing we can do." David explained quietly when Kara looked up at him. "I'm sorry, but this isn't like the time of the heroes anymore. Dang, 150 years ago the 6 Heroes were pretty awesome. Sadly there's no 6 Heroes now to save us, is there?" Chuckling quietly to himself, David continued to look out the window.

The army turned their attention to Kara and David's refuge. "Aw snap."

_POOOOM_. Kara clutched onto David harder than ever as a series of turbulence rocked the whole building. With fearsome battle cries and bellows, the elite army smashed and battered the house to pieces. David grabbed Kara and yanked her from the window, taking her further up the house.

_KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHHHHHH_

The house collapsed. Kara let a mute cry of pain as a falling piece of metal slammed into her left hand. Holding the bloody hand close to her, Kara continued following David. A second missile slammed into her right shoulder, and she tripped over a fallen stool. David was confronted with several of the monsters smashing at the house, many of whom were bleeding from the fallen bits of their own attack.

"Quick! Hide!" David yelled and pushed Kara away. She fell into a pile of toppled furniture and scurried under one. The loss of blood made Kara dizzy. She blinked inquiringly at the world going black, and collapsed.

…

It was a warm. Kara stood happily on a flower patch. It was a beautiful summer morning. The sun beamed down proudly on the earth as bees droned by lazily, collecting pollen. The tall grass swayed and bent to the wind. It was a beautiful field of spring, filled with growing things poking out curiously from underneath the dark, moist earth. Kara took in every little detail with care, staring around her as if the air was filled with magic. It probably was. There was a man standing a few feet away from her. Kara let out a whoop of joy and threw herself into the man's arms. "David!" Kara didn't seem surprised at all she could speak. Apparently David wasn't either.

"Are we dead?" Kara stared up at him with wide, sparkling blue eyes. David smiled. Then the smile disappeared. "Kara, listen. I have something important to tell you."

The 7-year-old nodded knowingly, still happily nestled in David's arms.

"Salkara. Don't be deceived by everything your eyes believe in. Don't forget what is truly important, and never give up on memories. Because one day they're all you'll have that's left of this world. Your path ahead is littered with sharp rocks and mountains. It's not a clear path, nor is it an easy one. But you must walk down it all the way. Because it will make you strong." David brushed a loose hair from Kara's forehead. "Don't look back on these painful times, but hold on to the memories and lessons they teach. One day, you'll do us all proud." David hugged the child close to him.

For some reason Kara was crying. She was sniffing and tears were pouring from her eyes. But she felt that whatever David had said, it was very important. She was still too young to understand most of it.

For a moment Kara felt warm. Then everything faded.

…

"Hey, kid. You awake?" A hand gently shook her shoulders. Kara blinked lazily and stirred. _I'm alive?_

"She's coming around. Watch her for the next few days. She'll be okay in a while"

"Man, I thought everyone had died. Guess I was wrong. Good thing I didn't bet on that one, eh? HAHAHAH—"

"Oh shut it. This is serious business. Why had they come in huge numbers? All the way from Lotus Marsh? Heck, not even Saint's Haven or Carderock Pass got such a reception in the days in the past."

"Not this again! We have enough trouble picking up after our ancestors to get all this stuff. Arg. I guess we can't push it either. Where is a prophecy when you needed one? Heck, at least back then they had Rose."

Kara coughed up a little blood clogging her throat and blinked, trying to sit up. A warm hand pushed her back down. "Stay down. Little one. It'll do you no good to reopen scars."

Clearing her eyes of dried blood, she stared around quietly. There were 2 people gathered around her. Kara was inside a small tent. It was a make-shift one. A fire blazed lazily next to her. It almost made her chock when it extended a fiery arm and waved at her, commenting. "Young ones these days have to put up with a lot, eh? Why not just settle down and eat a good wooden stick or two."

The female shoved a dry wooden stick into the fire, scolding. "Now you be quiet and stop disturbing her."

The strange fire creature extended an arm and pulled the stick out, grew a slit of a mouth and tossed the stick in, chewing with delight. "Well, then. I suppose you want me to make something to eat."

"Why not, Fiywr (pronounced FY-wi-er. Not my fault strange talking-moving fire thingies have strange names D:). We aren't wood-eaters like you."

Obviously insulted, the strange clump of flames seemed to shrink in size, until it became only a few pitiful sparks of warmth. Then it blazed back with a force that surprised Kara, then glumly reached an arm out to collect another piece of wood, careful not to burn the whole stack.

Kara watched silently. She didn't feel like asking for her rescuers' names because it would prove to be quite a difficult time. So she laid back down and tried to sleep. It was not easy in forthcoming, and Kara didn't want to sleep anyways. She wasn't tired. Just thinking. Darkness let her think. So closing her eyes and lying on the warm bed made her feel much better, more propelled to think. However she thought about nothing, just let her mind drift lazily through sheets of darkness. Very useless waste of time, she would think. But either way, while she's recovering, everything will pretty much be a waste of time.

…

It surprised the young girl when the darkness cleared and she was standing in a field. But it wasn't the same field as last time. This field was different. A lot different.

Kara watched in horror as more and more people fell on the bloody battlefield. Monsters she never thought existed rose from the ground to confront the pathetic human and elven ranks. The forces were quickly cut off, and the monsters moved on to destroy everything. Kara was subconsciously aware that what was happening around her was real. Very real. She watched helpless, as the monsters tore everything into oblivion. Then everything faded. Because there was nothing left to kill. Nothing left to destroy. The last pitiful creature, a beautiful blue bird, cheeped feebly and fell from its perch, its wings severed and an arrow through its breast.

Kara cried out and rushed forward, catching the bird as it fell. She cried over it, cradling the thing in her arms. Her tears rolled off her cheeks and spattered on the bloodied and mangled feathers of the poor thing. The arrow dissolved. The wound healed. Bones sprouted from the wing-stump and was quickly covered in flesh and blood, sealed off with a luscious covering of feathers. The bird blinked and cheeped, struggling to get back up. Then it preened its feathers and stared with innocent dew-drop eyes at its healer.

"How did I—" Kara stared at the lively young thing. It pecked her. "Ow!"

…

**Meh, too lazy to write more. Well, don't think Kara is a Mary-Sue, 'kay? You'll see soon. And to people who think she's the Star—no luck for you! :D SPOILER :D Well then, I'll be going to sleep now. Probably will wake a few minutes later and play DN until 2 or something. Meh. **

**See you peeps on Dragon Nest! :D**

**Remember, you can find me as Songtale, SongChaos, or Songflower. If you have any questions, PM me in fanfic or mail me in Dragon Nest.**


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